How To Expand My Vocabulary And Remember The Meaning Of Words

Games to Build English Vocabulary Skills

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How to expand my vocabulary and remember the meaning of words

If you are one of those who search for an answer to the “how to expand my vocabulary” question, there are some techniques you might find useful. Actually, it is not that difficult to learn new words, but to keep them in your memory for a life time appears to be more challenging.

To make it easier, you can try word associations. Try to find a connection between a new word and things or people you know. For example, if your neighbor is a selfish person who does not care about the needs of other people and is always concentrated on his own interests and pleasures, it would be easier to think about him than learn by heart the definition of the word “egocentric”. Just think about this person every time you see the word, and very soon you’ll start actively using it.

Speaking about using the words, try to use the words you learn as often as possible. Perhaps you are not sure which situations they should be used in, or whether you pronounce them correctly, but practice is the best way to figure that out. It is not enough to find out the meaning of a word: if you want it to stick, you should hammer it into your memory by using it in actual conversations in everyday life.

Also, it might be helpful to know the meaning of the word roots, prefixes and suffixes, especially if they have a Greek or Latin origin. Even if you encounter a long unfamiliar word, it will be easy to define its meaning if you know the general meaning of its parts. For example, if you come across the word “philanthropy”, it won’t be difficult to guess what it means if you know that anthropo means “human” and philo- — “loving”.

Not only ancient Greek and Latic can be helpful, but a number of modern languages as well. So, if you speak French, Italian, Spanish or Portuguese, do not hesitate to guess the meaning of an unfamiliar English words if it sounds similar to a word from another language you know.

These are just a few tips on “how to expand my vocabulary” subject, but let’s face it: there is hardly a better way to build one’s vocabulary than reading. Even a few pages a day will be extremely beneficial, especially if you stick to your favorite genres, subjects and authors.